Living Arrangements
by EvilValenStrife
Summary: AU: Tristan finds himself living in the dorms with a billionaire bad boy that he finds problematic.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Crap****:** I don't know why I really felt the urge to make a Triles chapter fic… I suck at writing chapter fics… I don't think this one can be done in a one-shot though… I think this one will be updated whenever I have inspiration. This is hella au Triles and they don't know each other!

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><p>"Ugh… I fucking hate this shitty ass car…." Tristan groaned in frustration as he kicked at a tire of his Honda Civic.<p>

He had surprisingly made it to the dorm but the car gave up the second he got near the parking lot. He'd planned on parking it on the loop so he wouldn't have to walk as far to carry all of his belongings. He was in the BFE (Butt-Fuck-Egypt) area of the parking lot and groaned when he saw how far away the Hamlin Hall dorms were. He'd crammed everything he could into this car with his mom's help before he let. He attributed it to years of her playing Tetris. Tristan was fresh out of high school and moving into the freshman dorm as a theater major. He'd been looking forward to this day the second he'd walked across that stage and grasped that diploma. Now, he was already beginning to hate it.

He sighed and opened the creaky rusted door so he could begin to take his things all the way up to the door. He had been about to close the door with his backside but stopped when he saw a person running up to his car.

"Hey! Do you need help? My dad brought a cart and we're all finished moving my things in." a short black haired male asked gesturing at the large box in Tristan's hands.

"OMG. YES." Tristan gaped happily.

The boy ran off in the direction of his father's vehicle and returned shortly after with his father and cart in tow.

"Thank you so much! You're a life saver!" Tristan thanked the boy and his father.

"Don't mention it. You looked like you could use the help." The boy smiled. "I'm Winston Chu. Nice to meet you."

"Tristan Milligan." Tristan shook the extended hand.

"Well, here…" Winston took the box from Tristan and placed it onto the cart. "Let's start loading your stuff."

Tristan unlocked the door again and the three began to pile his many boxes and bags onto the large cart. They managed to get most of it onto the cart and carried what couldn't fit. After Tristan checked in with housing and received his key, he, Winston, and his father all piled into the crammed elevator with two other residents of the dorms.

"So, what's your major?" Tristan asked making conversation.

"I'm going into video game design. Do you play any?" Winston asked excitedly.

"Afraid not…" Tristan chuckled a little awkwardly.

"Oh…" Winston looked slightly dejected at that but, quickly replaced the smile on his face. "What are you going into?"

"I'm a theater major. I want to be an actor." Tristan spoke proudly.

"That's cool." Winston nodded before the elevator grew silent.

The silence was broken a minute later when the elevator dinged at floor eight. Their destination. They walked down the narrow hall of the dorm and Tristan began reading off the room numbers as he looked at his paper to see where his room number was.

"806… 806…" He mumbled glancing left and right.

""806?" I'm in 807!" Winston said excitedly. "We're suitemates bro!"

Tristan smiled at the revelation happy that he'd at least have a friend in their suite. They stopped at the last door on the left of the hall and Tristan unlocked it to reveal a small foyer and two closed doors. The one on the left read "806". Tristan pushed the door open to reveal a slightly barren room. There were two undressed mattresses on unlofted bedposts in opposite corners of the room. There were two desks sitting untouched next to each other as well. It looked like his roommate hadn't arrived at the dorms yet. The three began unloading the boxes from the cart and finished in no time at all. They even lofted Tristan's bed high up near the ceiling so that he could slide the desk underneath it giving him even more room.

"Thanks for all your help… I probably would still be outside carrying in boxes if not for you guys." Tristan spoke with nothing but eternal gratitude as Winston's father bade his son and Tristan good luck on their freshman year of college.

"Not a problem at all dude. You seem pretty cool anyway and you turned out to be living right next door to me!" Winston smiled. "I wonder what room Miles got…"

"Miles?" Tristan asked.

"Miles Hollingsworth the Thrid. My best bro. He's in the dorms here too. He's supposed to be somewhere on this floor…" Winston said flipping through his phone to see what was keeping Miles.

""The Third"?" Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Sounds fancy."

"Trust me. He's not as regal as his name makes him seem." Winston snorted as his phone lit up with a text from someone. "Ah, Frankie!"

Winston's face lit up with happiness as he read the message.

"Girlfriend?" Tristan asked smirking.

"Yeah…" Winston blushed slightly looking off to the side. "Francesca Hollingsworth. Miles' younger sister."

"You're dating his sister?" Tristan balked.

"Trust me. He flipped out when he heard about it." Winston laughed. "He's cool with it now. He still threatens me every chance he gets to not break her heart."

Tristan smiled. If this Miles guy was as awesome as Winston, he was sure they'd all be pretty good friends. He was already looking forward to meeting him.

"He says that he's not coming until later today. He's got "stuff" to do." Winston rolled his eyes. "Oh, well… When you get done unpacking your things, we could go check out the campus?"

"Sounds good to me!" Tristan agreed pulling out his phone. "Here, let's exchange numbers."

After the two exchanged numbers, Winston went in his room presumably to hook up his PS4 and Tristan went back into his own. As he unpacked the boxes, he found himself thinking back on what his best friend Tori said before he left. _"I'm not going to be there with you so, make some great friends!" _He smiled knowing that he was already off to a good start with his suitemate and sent her a message telling her how happy he was that he'd already made one.

An hour later, Tristan smiled and wiped his brow looking over his half of the now much more inviting room. He had a bright blue rug on the ground underneath his desk and a lounge chair. He had a refrigerator but, it was at his house for when he was supposed to come back to get it. Though, with his car in the state that it was, it didn't look like that would be happening any time soon. He sighed heavily. He could probably use it to get small distances but it probably wouldn't take to well to a trip back home at the moment. Oh, well… At least he still had his microwave.

He knocked on Winston's door and peered in to see the black-haired male quickly mashing buttons on his controller.

"Oh, you're finished?" Winston spoke pausing the game. "Let's go grab some food. I'm starving!"

Winston stood up from his chair and the two proceeded to walk to the elevator. On the way to the elevator, they were stopped by their RA who introduced himself as Drew Torres. He was a junior with a major in Finance. Once outside, Winston looked around to find the building known as "Vandenburg Hall". It was a sophomore dorm that was also home to the cafeteria where they'd spend their meals. After locating the building, the two quickly made their way to the cafeteria and began gaping like fish out of water.

"So much food!" Winston exclaimed wasting no time in grabbing a tray.

"I wonder if they have vegetarian options…" Tristan looked around at all the different stations with so much different food.

"You're a vegetarian?" Winston asked grabbing about three slices of pizza.

"No, I prefer healthier options though in terms of food." Tristan explained smiling when he saw the veggie burgers.

"Whatever floats your boat, dude." Winston shrugged and made about four tacos.

After the two had gotten their food, they sat down at a small booth off to the side.

"Got enough food there?" Tristan spoke chuckling at the ridiculous amount of food on Winston's plate.

"Hey, I wasn't kidding when I said I was starving!" Winston laughed shoveling another slice of pizza into his mouth. "At least it's pretty good!"

Tristan couldn't argue that. The food was actually pretty good here. He'd been warned not to gain the freshman fifteen that everyone said they gained when they went away to college. He'd been pretty good so far at sticking to his diet though so, he wasn't too worried. He had a simple veggie burger and a spinach salad with red onion and drizzled some red wine vinaigrette over it.

The two made light conversation over their dinner and spent time getting to know each other. Winston was a pretty interesting guy. Kind of a nerd but, Tristan found it to be cool. Winston was also accepting of Tristan's sexuality and didn't judge him in the slightest. About two hours later after the two were thoroughly stuffed, they began to make their way slowly back to the freshman dorm. Winston excused himself to use the restroom and Tristan began to unlock his door only to find it unlocked. The scent in the room although faint stood out to him immediately and he looked by the window sill to find a brunet with an impeccable sense of fashion leaning out of the room with a joint. He turned his head at the noise to see the blond standing in the doorway with a worried look.

"You must be my roommate…" the brunet spoke as he stubbed the last of the joint out on the outside of the building and threw it out the window.

He approached the blond in sure steps and Tristan felt his blood rushing through his body. Who was this person? How could he be smoking in this dorm? Wasn't that against dorm regulations? The brunet stopped in front of him smirked.

"Miles Hollingsworth the Thrid." The brunet said extending a hand to Tristan.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Crap<strong>**:** Well, that was chapter one. Hopefully I'm doing alright and you guys wanna see more of this!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Crap****: **So, here's chapter two! I'm not sure how updates are going to work. I think that I will honestly do like I said last chapter and update whenever I get hit with inspiration. Some of this story may be in order and some of it may not be. I haven't completely decided but, I will have a definite answer before we get too into the actual story.

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><p>Tristan just froze and stared at the brunet in front of him. THIS was Miles Hollingsworth? The one Winston had spoken so fondly of? Tristan couldn't believe that this was the same guy Winston had mentioned. And, he was Tristan's new roommate?<p>

"Tristan Milligan." Tristan took the extended hand while he spoke a little curtly. "Were you smoking?"

"Yeah… Don't worry about it. I stayed near the window so it wouldn't set off the smoke detector." Miles waved off the concern.

"I don't think it matters. You're not supposed to smoke inside the dorm." Tristan mentioned.

"Geez… What crawled up yours?" Miles backed off before walking past the blond to go out into the foyer.

The bathroom door opened and Winston's face lit up with a smile when he saw his best friend emerge.

"Dude, we're living together in the same dorm room?! Sweet! Let me introduce you to Tristan-" Winston began.

"We've already met." Tristan spoke from the doorway still slightly disgruntled by Miles' now apparent disregard for the rules.

"Awesome! Let's go exploring!" Winston suggested.

"I have to air out our room because someone decided it would be a good idea to smoke in it." Tristan wasn't making his disdain for his roommate a secret.

"Dude, you didn't…" Winston put his hand over his mouth.

"Whatever… Let's go, Chewy…" Miles waved his hand flippantly before stepping out of the room altogether.

"Ugh… You still won't stop calling me that…" Winston groaned before looking up at Tristan with an apologetic look.

He disappeared out of the room and the door shut with a quiet click leaving Tristan alone. He couldn't believe that his first meeting with his roommate had gone like this. He had a roommate that not only had a blatant disregard for rules but, did drugs too? Ugh… Tristan felt the elation he felt from earlier that day start to dissipate.

Miles wasn't the person he thought he'd meet. Winston had said that Miles was nowhere near as refined as his name would lead him to believe but, he hadn't expected him to be like this. So uncaring and so blasé about the dorm regulations. He and Winston had just met their RA not but a couple of hours before too! He took his phone out and sent a message to Tori. She'd know what to do at a time like this.

_Strike that… Worst roomie ever._ He sent.

_Whats wrong?_ A new message from Tori read.

_Call me?_ Tristan messaged back.

His phone vibrated in his hands not a second later. He answered it immediately and gave a big sigh into the receiver.

"What's this about the "worst roomie ever"?" her concerned voice asked.

"So, I get to the dorm and I meet my suitemate and he's cool and all that but, it's my roommate that I am already disliking." Tristan lamented. "He smokes pot Tor… And he smoked it in our room!"

"Oh wow… Sounds like a troublemaker…" Tori sympathized. "Can you switch roommates?"

"I don't know but, I might consider it…." Tristan spoke truthfully. "But, I like having Winston as a suitemate… It's not his fault he's got a rotten friend…"

"Winston?" Tori asked. "Who's Winston? Ohhhhhh, the guy who helped you out earlier?"

"Again, I have no problem with Winston but, Miles is a whole other story…"

"Sounds like trouble… He's not cute, is he?" Tori asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, yes… He's gorgeous Tor…" Tristan admitted.

Miles might be his least favorite person on the planet right now but, Tristan wasn't going to lie and say that his new roommate wasn't attractive. He just had some really annoying habits.

"He's still a jerk though so, I won't fall for him." Tristan spoke making sure that she knew that he was serious.

"If he keeps on smoking in the room, I think you should put in an official request to change your roommate." Tori suggested.

"Hmmm… That makes sense…" Tristan agreed begrudgingly. "My room smells like a fucking ganja festival..."

Tori gave a slight chuckle.

"Just Febreeze it a little and go buy an air purifier." She advised. "I've gotta go but, let me know if it gets any worse!"

"Yeah, see you later Tor!" Tristan hung up the phone and sat harshly in his lounge chair.

He picked up the throw blanket on his desk chair and scratched at his chin getting an idea.

It would be another hour before Miles and Winston returned to the room. Miles opened the door to his room to see a tawny blanket fixed underneath Tristan's mattress as a privacy curtain.

"Seriously?" Miles chuckled. "We still live together…"

"Hopefully, not for much longer." Tristan spoke flipping harshly through his magazine from behind the blanket curtain.

"Wait," Winston spoke up. "You wanna move out?"

"I can't be around a troublemaker." Tristan spoke actually moving the sheet to speak to Winston directly.

"Whatever man… I don't even care…" Miles rolled his eyes and walked over to his own bed.

He climbed up his loft and flopped onto his mattress probably to take a nap.

"Miles…" Winston began trying to diffuse the situation. "Tristan…"

He looked at the blond who lowered his privacy curtain and then at Miles who'd taken out his headphones and was quite intent on ignoring the world.

"I guess I'll just… go…" Winston spoke dejectedly. "See you guys later, I guess…"

Tristan felt badly for acting like this around Winston when the black-haired male had shown him nothing but kindness. This was all Miles' fault. He couldn't be around people who just liked to start things for the hell of it. It wasn't something that he ever thought he'd have to deal with and he wasn't going to start. First thing in the morning, he'd go see Drew about changing his room.

When Tristan woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see Miles already out of the room. Tristan rolled his eyes and reminded himself that he didn't care about where the brunet went. As he made his way to the bathroom, he noted that Winston's room was quiet too. Maybe they went to go get breakfast. Winston probably would've messaged him about it although, Tristan was sure that because Miles was his best friend that he would probably take Miles' side on this matter anyway. He shrugged his shoulders a little upset that he might lose a potential friend over this.

After he showered, he got dressed and made his way to Drew Torres' single room at the end of the hall and knocked on the door. His RA came to the door later combing copious amounts of hair gel into his hair.

"Tristan, right?" He greeted putting the comb in the back pocket of his jeans. "What's up?"

"I wanted to know if I can switch rooms." Tristan said.

"You're having roommate problems already?" Drew surmised from the question. "Let's see… You're in a room with Miles Hollingsworth, right?"

"Yes, we have conflicting personalities and I don't think I can be in a room with him." Tristan spoke looking at the floor.

"Well, it's still kind of early to request a change but, I will give you the form so that you can put in the official request if you still feel you need to." Drew nodded. "What's going on?"

Tristan had considered telling Drew exactly what the problem with Miles was but, held his tongue on it. He didn't like Miles but, he wasn't a snitch and he didn't want to completely lose Winston as a friend.

"Like I said, we really just don't get along…" Tristan spoke truthfully.

"I think you should give it some time. I've had many kids come to me and ask to change their rooms at first but, they end up cancelling that request and getting along just fine with their roommates." Drew mentioned smiling. "If you still feel like that in a week, request the switch."

Tristan frowned before sighing. It looked like he wouldn't be getting a new room any time soon. He'd have to make do for another week.

"Fine. I don't think things are going to get any better but, I have no choice." Tristan relented.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Miles will come around and you guys will be friends in no time." Drew smiled patting Tristan's shoulder.

"Doubt it." Tristan mumbled before turning to leave Drew to putting more of that ridiculous hair gel in his slick mane.

Tristan walked back to his room to go grab his car keys so he could go buy some Febreeze to at least make sure that the room wouldn't smell like he'd just lit an entire field of marijuana on fire. There was a Real Canadian Superstore not far from the university so, he could just go there.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Crap<strong>**:** Somehow I've managed a chapter two. I don't know how long this will be but, I hope you guys enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Crap****:** And, we meet again! Here's chapter three! I hope things aren't too jumbled up. My brain flops at making things that have some cohesive value to them.

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><p>What Tristan had expected to be a simple trip to the grocery store turned into too much, too fast. He had intended to purchase only some Febreeze and return to his dorm. He ended up spending too much money once he'd seen all the healthy foods that they had. By the time he'd pulled out of the parking lot, he remembered that his fridge was still at home and not in his dorm. He would have to store everything in the drama department's fridge and, that was quite the hike. He groaned and began to turn into the parking lot of the school before flashing lights appeared behind him. Tristan had been going the speed limit so, he was confused as to why he was getting stopped now. The officer stepped out of the car and tapped on Tristan's window which he had a fun time trying to lower.<p>

"Is there a problem officer?" Tristan put on his best smile.

"License and registration." The officer stared into the car behind his sunglasses.

Tristan fumbled around in the glove box for the required documents and handed them over to the officer. He looked over them carefully before handing them back to Tristan. He went back to his car presumably to run his plate numbers or something. Tristan chewed his lip nervously. He didn't know why he was stopped or why this was happening now of all times. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the officer come back to the car.

"Mr. Milligan?" The police officer's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Y-yes? Sorry…" Tristan began to apologize.

"Your taillight is broken so, I'm giving you a ticket." The officer spoke before handing Tristan the ticket. "You have thirty days to pay it. Have a good day."

"You too…" Tristan mumbled unenthusiastically.

He waited for the officer to pull off before he banged his hands on the steering wheel angrily.

"A fucking taillight?!" Tristan screeched throwing the ticket and chewing frustratedly at his lower lip.

His start to college life was already starting to piss him off. He'd been through too much today. After sitting a little while longer in the car, he began his trek to the drama building with bags full of groceries. When he finished putting his food away, he made his way back to his dorm room with the intention of just climbing in his bed, ignoring everyone. Hopefully that smell was gone by now. Once he reached the room, he heard Winston's voice excitedly chattering to someone on his phone. He turned his doorknob and discovered that it was unlocked and inwardly groaned. Miles was back as well.

He stepped into the room to smell not marijuana but, an almost forest pine scent. He looked over at his bed and saw the privacy curtain he'd installed before leaving taken down and neatly folded over his chair. When he looked up at Miles, the brunet took his earbuds out and turned to face him.

"Look, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot." Miles began. "We don't have to be friends but, Chewy seems to really like you. I don't want to upset him by making you miserable."

Tristan considered this. Winston was the closest thing he had to a friend in this entire university. It would suck to be alone.

"Nothing's been decided. It's too early for me to request a room change so, I have to stick it out here anyway." Tristan spoke honestly. "We'll discuss this later. I'm really tired right now."

Miles nodded the affirmative and replaced his earbuds. Tristan took one look back at the ticket in his hand and grunted with disdain before placing it on his desk. He'd have to tap into the emergency money his mother gave him. Tristan crawled up the ladder so he could attempt to get some type of rest. He didn't even care that he was still in his clothes. He just wanted to pass out in his bed and forget about life for a while. His eyes slipped shut the second his head hit his pillow.

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><p>He awoke hours later stretching his stiff limbs in under the covers. Reaching over to grab his phone, he noted the time. 9:30 AM. He must've slept the rest of the day. Tristan looked over to Miles' bed and once again, the brunette wasn't present. He remembered the promise to talk more about how they were going to deal with being each other's roommates. He had no choice but to stick it out with Miles. He wanted to remain in the room because they had a common interest: Winston. Winston had shown him nothing but kindness in the past two days and, Tristan couldn't just throw it away.<p>

Tristan began to climb out of his bed to proceed to the bathroom before he remembered that he should probably pay that ticket. He turned to go under his bed to the desk and noticed a small gold piece of plastic placed neatly on top of the ticket. "M Hollingsworth" was printed in the bottom left corner. Was this Miles' credit card? Why would this be on his desk? What was Miles even doing near his desk? He'd seen the ticket? Tristan was confused. Why was Miles offering to pay for his ticket? There were too many unanswered questions.

"The pin is 1562. Sorry, I forgot to write it down." A voice came from the doorway.

Tristan looked up and saw the brunette in a pair of sweatpants and a black muscle tee. His hair was slightly damp and he had a towel slung over his shoulder. He looked like he'd gone to the gym.

"What's this for?" Tristan asked.

"To pay for your ticket?" Miles was confused. "And to fix your taillight."

"I get that but, why?" Tristan just flat out asked him. "Why are you paying for it?"

Miles sighed before speaking.

"Because if we're going to live with each other, I don't want you to hate me. I saw how tired you were yesterday and I knew that something was wrong." Miles said. "Sorry I looked at your ticket without your permission too. I noticed it when you walked in yesterday."

Tristan had to let all of this soak in. Who was this person and where was the nonchalant, weed-smoking guy that was his roommate?

"I can't accept this." Tristan spoke intending to decline Miles' offer. "That's too much money. I don't want to be indebted to you."

"I'm not exactly strapped for cash." Miles spoke with a slight chuckle. "You know "Hollingsworth Industries"? My dad's the CEO."

"In other words," Tristan began to put two and two together. "You're loaded?"

"Simply put, yeah." Miles said shrugging. "Look, I want to do this. Let me. I've already taken care of the taillight."

"What?!" Tristan exclaimed.

"While you were asleep, I made an appointment for you to get it fixed at noon today. It's already paid for, all you have to do is show up."

Tristan balked and looked at the ground. Miles had done all this for him. He looked back up at Miles' face.

"I-I don't know what to say…" Tristan stammered.

"I would go with "Thanks"." Miles replied snarkily. "Come here."

Miles walked forward and reached his arms out to pull Tristan into a hug. Tristan let himself be enveloped in the brunet's arms and felt the warmth radiating from his body. He let his own arms encircle Miles' waist inhaling the somehow still present cologne. The brunet was still a little sweaty from his gym run but, Tristan didn't really care about that at the moment. All he knew was something about this felt right.

"Oh, I see hugs!" Winston chirped excitedly somewhere behind them. "Did you make up?"

"I think so." Miles said removing his arms from the blond's body. "Right, Tris?"

"R-right…" Tristan was still a little flustered from how much he enjoyed that hug.

"Yay! We should celebrate!" Winston cheered patting Miles' on the shoulder. "Let's all get breakfast."

"Sure thing but, let me take a shower first." Miles suggested before walking to the middle of the foyer.

He began to peel the tight form-fitting shirt from his body revealing toned abs. He threw it off into his clothes hamper in the closet. Tristan caught himself staring at the brunet's body longer than he'd meant to. The brunet was handsome and muscular to boot. Tristan felt the air around him growing a little hotter and he began to fidget to get himself under control. He was not going to flip out over his hot, half-naked, and fit roommate. He wasn't.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer." Miles spoke throwing Tristan a wink before disappearing into their bathroom.

"Show-off…." Winston griped shaking his head. "Oh, I met my roommate!"

Tristan had to shake his head to clear it of any lingering thoughts so he could properly answer his suitemate.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was coming back from the dining hall and Miles and I bumped into him when he got on the elevator." Winston said. "Turns out that he does live in the dorms but, he "doesn't live" in the dorms."

"What's that mean?" Tristan asked with his brow furrowing.

"He has an apartment with his girlfriend but his parents don't know about her nor their living arrangements. He said they'd flip if they knew he was living with her so, he got a dorm so they wouldn't know."

"Wow… What kind of Romeo and Juliet situation is this guy in?" Tristan frowned. "What's his name?"

"Zig." Winston replied. "I think his full name is "Zigmund" or "Zigmand"… Something like that…"

"No way! "Zig"? As in, Zig Novak?" Tristan grabbed Winston by his shoulders and shook him for answers.

"Yeah." Winston was shocked by Tristan's sudden change in emotion. "Why? You know him."

"Yeah… That jerk used to date my best friend back in high school… Ugh… Why's he here?" Tristan groaned.

"Don't worry about it too much… He said that he won't be here that often so, you don't have to worry." Winston clapped Tristan on the shoulder.

Tristan frowned. Ugh… Zig was here too? He'd have to tell Tori about his when he talked to her later. She'd have a field day with this one. He returned to his room to grab his things so he could take a shower after Miles. His face went red with heat as he cursed himself for thinking about his roommate in the shower.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Crap<strong>**:** I'm such a dork for this… Wait until you find out who Zig's shacking up with! Lol!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Crap****:** I'm back with chapter four! Hopefully I'm being coherent with this fic. I still don't completely know the outcome of this fic but, I hope you'll all continue to be there to find out with me.

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><p>Breakfast went surprisingly well. Tristan had been surprised with how interesting both Miles and Winston were. The way they played off of each other without missing a beat. It was clear that they had been best friends for a very long time. It actually made Tristan happy to see that they had such a strong friendship.<p>

After breakfast, Tristan hopped in his car so that he could go to the auto shop and get that damned taillight. Miles had even offered to come with him to ensure that everything went smoothly. After Tristan had gotten into his car, Miles pulled up beside his vehicle in his all black shiny Mustang.

"Damn…" Tristan whistled. "Impressive wheels…"

Miles gave a small chuckle and patted the side of the car.

"It was my reward for passing my road test years ago." Miles remarked with a slightly bitter smile.

Tristan hadn't missed that expression on Miles' face. He almost wanted to ask if everything was alright but, opted against it. He didn't really know Miles like that and while their relationship was better than it was initially, it wasn't quite on friend status. More like, "decently acquainted acquaintances". He was happy that he could at least stop feeling a sense of "ugh" whenever his roommate walked in a room.

The two drove out of the parking lot and get his taillight taken care of. They sat in Miles' convertible as they waited for the light to be replaced. The silence in the car was thick.

"So…" Tristan began feeling awkward that there was no conversation happening. "What are you in school for?"

"On paper, I'm in school for business management." Miles chuckled. "I'm actually in school for Music Composition."

"Why "on paper"?" Tristan inquired curiously.

"Because, that's what my dad wants." Miles spoke rolling his eyes at nothing in particular. "He doesn't want me to become some "no good artist". I'm supposed to be the successor to the company so, it doesn't look good for the heir's son to be an artist."

Tristan fell silent. Being the son of a wealthy business owner must difficult. Tristan had gotten lucky enough with his parents that they supported whatever he wanted to do. He couldn't imagine what Miles must feel knowing his father wasn't supportive of his dreams.

"I'm sorry for loading that on you. I know we aren't exactly friends." Miles apologized looking off at the passing cars.

"No, not at all. I just couldn't imagine my parents not supporting me in my career." Tristan spoke in attempt to make Miles feel less apprehensive. "What do you play?"

"I can play the piano a little but, my main instrument is the guitar." Miles smiled at the blond a genuine smile.

Tristan was trying hard not to seem too impressed with his roommate's talents but, it was rather difficult. His former nemesis was gorgeous and, he was talented to boot? Ugh…

"What's your major?" Miles asked putting an arm on the headrest of the passenger's side.

"I'm going for theater." Tristan spoke proudly. "My mom told me once when I was younger that I should be an actor because I was such a drama queen."

The brunet chuckled before continuing.

"Are you going for musical theater or plays and stuff?" Miles was genuinely interested.

"I don't mind doing musical theater but, I do prefer doing just regular plays. My singing voice isn't anything spectacular…" Tristan spoke looking down at his hands.

He loved all aspects of theater but, he still wasn't as confident in his vocals. He was quite the actor and scored many of the lead roles in his high school's plays but, he knew he wouldn't go too far in musical theater. It bothered him because he felt that an actor should be able to effectively do both.

"I don't know about that. I think it's pretty cool that you have something that you're into and want to try everything that goes into it." Miles spoke reassuringly. "I'm sure you're not as bad as you think you are."

Tristan flushed slightly. He didn't know why Miles' comments were making him act like this. Surely he wasn't developing some type of fondness for the boy… This was happening a little too quickly for his liking.

"Thanks… That's kind of you to say." Tristan spoke graciously.

"No problem." Miles paused momentarily before speaking again. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I know I do some things that you probably wouldn't like but, I think we could be friends."

Tristan unconsciously beamed at the notion.

"Totes!" Tristan held out a hand to shake on it. "Friends?"

"Come on, we're going to be friends, not business partners." Miles chuckled before pulling Tristan forward in a hug.

Tristan felt an odd heat rush through him as he relaxed into Miles for the second time that day. He couldn't understand how a person who he just met was making him react like this. He didn't know how much he was missing Miles' hugs until he actually experienced them. He let his own arms wrap around the brunet's shoulders and just enjoyed the closeness for a minute before they both pulled away from each other. Miles looked cool as a cucumber while Tristan's cheeks were a bright cherry red.

"I think we're gonna get along just fine." Miles spoke patting Tristan's shoulder. "I'm happy you're my roommate."

"L-likewise…" Tristan spoke averting his eyes slightly.

If Miles noticed his behavior, he wasn't saying anything about it. Oh boy… He'd really have to talk to Tori about this later. He was falling and falling fast.

* * *

><p>A little while later, they were hopping their separate vehicles and headed back to the dorms. It was a little bit later in the afternoon and it was about time to go eat some lunch.<p>

"Hey," Tristan stopped Miles before they were going to head back to their room. "I've gotta run to the drama department really quick but, I can meet you back at the room."

"I'm not in a hurry." Miles shrugged. "I don't mind coming with you. Plus, I haven't really seen any of the other buildings."

"Then, let's go!" Tristan grabbed Miles' hand and began to pull him before he realized exactly what he was doing. He let go of the brunet's hand nervously, afraid that he'd overstepped his boundaries. "Ah… Sorry about that…"

"It's cool." Miles just laughed it off. "Let's get going."

"Yeah." Tristan was still feeling a little shaky about this.

Yup. Things were definitely moving too fast for him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so utterly puppy-dog about someone. Not even that one teacher he'd had a crush on as a kid was able to reduce him to this. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Miles was probably straight anyway. That somehow calmed him and disappointed him at the same time.

The walk to the drama building was shorter as the two made small talk about their schedules and whatnot. Once they reached the building, Tristan led Miles down the hall to the teacher's lounge.

"Oh, did you need to speak with a teacher? I can wait outside." Miles remarked once he read the sign on the door.

"Nah, I just came here to get some of my food out the fridge. I won't be able to pick up my refrigerator for a couple of days so, I have to store my food here." Tristan explained pushing the door open.

"Dude, you're seriously gonna walk all the way over here whenever you get hungry and don't feel like eating at the café?" Miles raised an eyebrow.

"I don't really have a choice." Tristan rummaged through the freezer for one of his bags. "Plus, it's good exercise."

"There's a gym if you want exercise." Miles snorted. "And, I have a refrigerator. No more hiking all the way out here for a meal. You can just share my fridge."

"I wouldn't want to hog all your fridge space." Tristan shook his head attempting to decline the offer.

"It's fine. It's big enough to fit my stuff and yours." Miles spoke taking one the bags marked "Tristan Milligan". "I'm not taking "no" for an answer."

Tristan sighed defeatedly. The look on Miles' face said that he was quite serious.

"Fine but, you've been warned." Tristan rolled his eyes. "I'm grateful though."

* * *

><p>The two returned to their dorm room to be met with a very happy Winston and began to put Tristan's groceries in Miles' refrigerator. His was a tad bit bigger than the one that Tristan was going to bring down so, he was grateful for that. It even had a larger area for frozen goods to be stored.<p>

"See?" Miles stood back and admired his handy work. "Much better, yeah?"

Tristan chuckled smiling before tearing open the cardboard box of the microwave dinner he'd reserved.

"You're my knight in shining armor." Tristan blurted out without completely thinking about the words he'd just spoken. He balked at his own words and quickly tried to backpedal them. "I-I didn't mean that."

"It's okay, Tris." Miles gave him a bright smile and moved to crouch down near a small shelf he'd placed under the lofted bed.

He took a bowl of spicy chicken flavored ramen from the shelf and the blond's eyes followed the movement. Tristan had never seen that brand before. It was spelled a little differently too. "Ramyun" it read. The other symbols on the bowl were a little foreign too.

"It's a Korean brand of ramen." Miles' voice suddenly spoke over the silence. "Stole it from Frankie before I left."

"Ah, I see…" Tristan finished opening his own meal. Miles must've noticed him staring.

He was grateful for the subject change and proceeded to place his dinner into his own microwave. While Miles went to the restroom to put water into his bowl, Tristan was alone with his thoughts. This was getting a little ridiculous. He'd just hated the guy literally a day ago. Now, he was practically hanging off every word he was saying? He really needed to talk to Tori soon.

When Miles came back into the room, Tristan offered him a friendly smile to which the brunet responded with one of his own. Tristan felt his body heat up with the eye contact and quickly turned his attention to his dinging microwave. Miles was going to be the death of him.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's Crap<strong>**:** Blame that new Dragon Age, Pokemon and my shitty work schedule for everything. Hopefully, I'll be quitting my job soon so, I might end up with more free time to work on this fic.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Crap****:** So, like I said before, this story will be updated simply whenever I get the inspiration for it. Forgive my lack of punctuality when it comes to my fics. I write when I have time or inspiration so, I can't really promise you guys dates on anything. Thanks for sticking around regardless!

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><p>A couple of days passed and Tristan was introduced to the hectic life that was college. He had classes back to back so he'd stay busy and graduate on time. His mother strongly protested against him registering for so many classes out of fear that he'd overwhelm himself but, Tristan was adamant in his decision.<p>

He walked the halls of the Drama and Theater Arts building in an attempt to locate his second class. It hadn't even been a day before there was a note on his classroom door stating that the class would be moved to another room. The room they'd been in seemed a little too small and smelled strangely of mildew and stale air. The teacher deemed that room unfit for a class that focused on singing so, she ended up dismissing them early stating that they'd just meet on Wednesday.

"Let's see… Room 225… Room 225…" He held his phone forward and walked taking note of all the classrooms in the area.

He should've been looking where he was going, because he smacked right into a quickly moving blonde girl. She fell to the ground and landed a little roughly on her bottom. Tristan immediately knelt down and extended a hand to help the girl to her feet.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" He pulled her to a standing position and began to pick up her things that were now strewn about on the floor around them. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine. I should've been looking where I was going." The girl dusted light blue pants off and took her belongings back. "Thanks."

"Actually, do you know where room 225 is?" Tristan asked holding out his phone with his schedule that he'd took a screenshot.

"Oh, you're in Intro to Musical Theater too?!" The girl smiled excitedly. "I'm headed to the same place. I know where it is so, let's go together!"

"Yay! I've got a buddy in the class already!" Tristan beamed. He was genuinely happy at having someone else in the class he could talk to. "So, new buddy… I'm Tristan, what's your name?"

"Maya Matlin." She shook his hand and they walked down the hall chattering about their majors.

They reached the classroom and Tristan and Maya took seats closer to the back of the classroom. The room was a large black box theater. Tristan smiled at the memory of the time spent in his high school's black box theater except, his was a lot smaller. This was already looking good. Maya nudged him with an elbow and smiled. He was already making friends and he was genuinely excited to be in college. He returned the gentle nudge with one of his own and smiled as the teacher began to talk more about the different kinds of things they'd be doing in the class this semester.

"There will be one required trip for all of you. You must attend a musical theater performance of your choosing and write a well thought out review on the performance. You have all semester to do it but, don't wait too late or else you might forget to do it." The professor highlighted this particular part of the syllabus.

"Did you hear that? Best assignment ever!" Tristan's entire face lit up as he whispered to Maya. This was going to be fun. Tristan could hardly wait to take a look at the schedules for upcoming performances.

"We should go to one together!" Maya whispered back equally excited and extended her pinky towards his.

"Totes!" Tristan locked pinkies with her and focused his attention back on their professor.

* * *

><p>The class let out an hour and a half later and Tristan was already to locate his last class of the day. He pulled out his phone and began to determine where the next class would be.<p>

"What class do you have next?" Maya asked pulling out her own schedule.

"Introduction to Japanese Language and Culture." Tristan spoke reading from the phone. "It's in some building called State Hall…"

"Wow, Japanese? That sounds difficult…"Maya's brow furrowed. "I ended up just picking French since I had it in high school."

"I did too. I was going to do that but, I wanted a little more of a challenge, I guess…" Tristan spoke proudly.

It was true. He was going to take French but decided against it the second he saw Japanese on the list of languages. He'd always been interested in Japanese because of Kabuki theater so, he figured that now was a good time to learn.

"Well, I'm going the same way because of French." Maya spoke. "Here, let's exchange numbers so that we can meet up between classes and on our days off!"

Tristan happily handed the blonde his phone. He could tell already that Maya was going to be a close friend of his.

They entered State Hall and were immediately met with the hustle and bustle of students entering and leaving the building.

"Wow… There are so many students here." Tristan remarked.

"I heard that this is where a lot of the freshmen level gen eds are held so, that would explain all the students." Maya mentioned.

"That makes sense." Maya and Tristan walked to the stairwell to ascend to the third floor.

The third floor was covered in posters for many different clubs and different scholarship opportunities. Tristan took a mental note of this and stored the information away for later. One club in particular stuck out to him.

"Japan Club?" Tristan read the flyer and smiled. "I'm so there! I have to see what the meeting times are though so I can make time for it."

"If I have time, I'll probably join you in that. I listen to a lot of Japanese music." Maya took a picture of the flyer with her phone. "Well, I should get to class! See ya later, Tris!"

Tristan waved goodbye to her and walked down to a classroom at the end of the hall. He looked at his phone and checked the time. 1:22 exactly. He was just in time. He walked into the classroom and took a seat by the window close to the front of the classroom. The class was to be taught by a woman named "Rie Yasuda". Tristan had looked up her ratings on the internet to make sure he wasn't going to be shafted. After all, he had three more semesters of this language and he'd rather get a good foundation. He looked down at his phone and noticed that it was now 1:25. The teacher would be walking in any minute now.

"Tristan?" A male voice called from somewhere to his left.

Tristan looked up and his eyes landed on the one person he hadn't expected to be in this class with him.

"Miles?! What are you doing here?" Tristan was nervous and excited all at the same time.

"Um… Taking Japanese?" Miles raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Oh, right…" Tristan laughed nervously.

"I didn't know you were in this class either. I only noticed it was you because of the hair." Miles reached over smoothed out a lock of Tristan's hair.

"That makes two of us." Tristan had to summon all of his willpower not to turn red at the touch.

"Well, I'm only taking it because I know a bit of Japanese. Maybe a little bit higher than beginning level." Miles spoke unloading his messenger bag. "I'm gonna see if there's a placement exam."

"O-oh… I see…" Tristan spoke dejectedly. Why was he so upset now? Because Miles might transfer out of this class? "No use wasting your time in beginning level if you already know it, right?"

"That's what I was thinking but, at the same time, I haven't used my Japanese while." Miles' eyebrows arched in thought. "I may be kinda rusty… I don't know, I'll see how today goes, I guess…"

Tristan frowned a little. _It's a little selfish of me to want him to stay in this class just because I want him to._ Great… Now he was lamenting to himself… He was definitely Skyping Tori tonight. He needed someone to talk to about this.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's Crap<strong>**:** Hopefully this chapter was alright for you guys. It's kind of a filler chapter but a necessary chapter. It's weird… I picked Japanese as the language simply because this is loosely based on my own college experience. (former Japanese major FTW!) I plan on again, updating this when I either have time or I have inspiration. Meanwhile, if you are a kink person, I have another chapter fic that is centered around a Triles BDSM setting. I'm still getting the beginning of it going but, take a look if you're interested. It's on AO3 under this same username.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Crap****:** It looks like I will be updating this in spurts of three. I hope that's not too inconvenient for anyone! I am on a roll today with these updates! I just seem to have a lot of inspiration! As I said in the previous chapter, I do have a new fic out that is a kink fic. It's **heavy BDSM** so, if you can't read that kind of stuff, I think you'd do well to avoid it. It's under this penname for those who are interested.

* * *

><p>Yasuda-sensei walked into the classroom and immediately began speaking in rapid fire Japanese. There were a few of the students in the classroom who could seemingly understand what she was saying. Most of the other students looked around lost and waited for her to translate. Tristan was among those students. The only word he understood was "konnichiwa"…<p>

"This is Beginning Japanese or Japanese 110. If you understood any of what I said, there will be a placement exam next Monday at the Japanese Language Office." Yasuda-sensei spoke.

Tristan looked over at Miles who appeared to understand a good majority of whatever she was saying. Tristan sighed at the possibility of Miles switching to a higher level. Ah, well… At least this meant that he wouldn't necessarily struggle in this class because Miles seemed to understand the language well.

The professor went on about the syllabus before asking each of the students their names so she could address them with the Japanese pronunciations. Tristan looked over at Miles again and noticed him scribbling on a folded piece of paper. Once the brunet lifted his pen again, he propped the paper up displaying his neatly written name in Japanese.

"Oh, Hollingsworth-san, you understand Japanese?" She asked in Japanese.

"Yes, a little." Miles responded in Japanese as well.

"You should take the placement exam next Monday and see if you can place out of this class." Yasuda-sensei suggested reverting back to English.

Tristan's heart sank a little again and he berated himself inwardly turning his gaze away before Miles caught him staring.

* * *

><p>The class went on smoothly as Yasuda-sensei began to teach them the writing style of Hiragana. This occupied the majority of the class time and kept Tristan's mind from wandering too far. The class was dismissed at 2:30 and Miles immediately jogged over to Tristan's desk while the blond packed up his belongings.<p>

"I'm surprised that I remember most of this stuff…" Miles spoke grabbing a stray pencil that had been about to roll off the desk. "It's been a while since I've seen it."

"At least I know who to go to if I get stuck." Tristan replied. "I've got to practice my name. I have a feeling that Katana or Kata-whatever is going to give me the most grief…"

"Katakana is only annoying because you don't really see it that often. It's mostly used for foreign words and sounds." Miles explained. "What's really gonna be fun is Kanji…"

"Don't scare me!" Tristan chuckled strapping his messenger bag shut.

"I'm just sayin'… I still suck at that… Ugh… I hope there's no Kanji on the placement exam…"

"Yeah, that would suck." Tristan spoke a little sullenly.

"Anyway, where are you headed now?" Miles asked checking his watch. "We could grab lunch at the café in the student center? I kinda want some sushi after all that Japanese."

"I'm fine with that." Tristan suddenly took out his phone to send a text. "Mind if we have one other person?"

"I don't care." Miles shrugged.

"Great!" Tristan smiled as he looked down to see his phone light up with a message from one Maya Matlin. "She says she'll meet us at the main entrance."

Miles and Tristan made their way down the staircase and back to the entrance where they found a bubbly blonde standing by the door.

"Maya!" Tristan called excitedly running towards the girl.

"Hey! How did class go?" She accepted his hug and smiled back at him. "Oh, who's this?"

"This is my roomie Miles Hollingsworth." Tristan spoke gesturing to Miles.

Miles eyed her momentarily before he extended a hand to Maya.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Maya." Miles spoke with a suave air to his voice. "We're getting sushi at the café, is that alright with you?"

Maya's face went a little red and who could blame her, Miles was attractive. Tristan knew this but, that still didn't stop him from getting a little annoyed by it. He needed to reign that in soon. Miles wasn't his property but, he didn't like how flirty Miles was being with Maya.

"Hey, let's get going." Tristan said rolling his eyes and pushing the door open letting the cool autumn air blow into the door.

The trio made their way to the café which was unsurprisingly crowded. It was prime lunch time after all. Miles spotted a table near the silverware and suggested that they take turns going up so that they could hold the table. Tristan and Maya decided to go together leaving Miles at the table to guard the bags.

"So…" Tristan began as he grabbed a tray from the stack. "You and my roomie?"

"W-what?! I-I'm not… I wasn't…" Maya's face started to get a noticeable blush. "He's just… Cute…"

"Yeah, I know." Tristan said a little bitterly.

"Oh, I'm sorry Tris!" Maya spoke grabbing the seaweed salad and putting it on her tray. "I didn't know… I didn't want to assume…"

"It's fine…" Tristan gave a slightly forced smile. "He's straight anyway. This isn't anything I haven't dealt with before."

"If it bothers you, I won't go after him…" Maya spoke with a smile. "I want to be good friends with you and if you like him, I understand and respect that."

Tristan felt a little guilty for how he was acting a while ago. Maya was trying to consider his feelings. Even if there was no way that Miles would return the attraction, Maya still was willing to put her own feelings aside for Tristan's. That's not right. If she could do it, he had no right to be selfish.

"If it's not you, it's some random girl that I don't know." Tristan shrugged. "At least, I actually like you. Don't worry about me. Go after who you want."

Maya's face lit up.

"Thanks Tris!" she spoke putting down her tray to give him a hug. "I am glad that I made a friend like you."

"Me too Maya Mat." Tristan returned the embrace happy that at least Maya seemed like a good choice for Miles. "Now, let's get back to the table before our Prince Charming eats the table."

Maya laughed before placing a spicy tuna roll onto her tray. They paid for their food and walked back over to where Miles was sitting and playing with his phone.

"There's spicy yellowtail up there!" Tristan smirked holding up his container of food proudly.

"What?! That's the best one! I'm buying two of those!" Miles practically leapt from his chair. "What did you get, Maya?"

"Spicy tuna and a seaweed salad." Maya spoke with a slight blush.

"Sounds good." Miles gave her an easy smile before he was off into the rush of people.

"Sounds like he's interested in you." Tristan turned to Maya with a grin.

"You think so?" Maya played with a strand of hair absently. "I don't know…"

"I haven't known him all that long but, I know flirting when I see it." Tristan spoke plopping a yellowtail roll into his mouth.

"Which dorm do you guys live in? Is it Hamlin?" Maya asked mixing some wasabi and soy sauce.

"Yup. The freshmen dorms. What about you?"

"Oh, I commute." Maya replied. "I don't live at home though. I moved in with my friend earlier this summer. We have an apartment not far from here."

He wasn't expecting that answer. He knew that the school had more commuters than it did people that lived on campus. Tristan had just assumed that she lived in the dorms or in an on-campus apartment.

"Really? What made you guys decide to get an off-campus apartment?" Tristan was genuinely interested.

"Honestly, it's a little cheaper. I was initially going to stay in the dorms but, I didn't really want to end up with a roommate that I wouldn't like. My current roomie and I split the cost of the apartment and since I'm here on a full-ride, I'm not struggling money wise." Maya explained.

"Wow… That's actually kinda cool…" Tristan spoke and he meant it. "What's your roomie like? Is she as awesome as you?"

"**He** is pretty awesome. He actually was supposed to be living in the dorms."

"He?" Tristan was a little confused. It's possible for people of the opposite sex to live together and not be attracted to each other he guessed.

"And before you ask, no, we're not interested in each other like that." Maya mentioned. "We already tried that and it didn't work out so we're just friends now. He was dating someone else a little while ago… Terri… Or, Tori! That was her name!"

Tristan's face went several shades of white in the span of three seconds.

"'Tori?!' As in "Tori Santamaria"?! That's my best friend! And in that case… Oh no…" Tristan's soul sank a little as he realized who Maya's roommate was.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Author's Crap<strong>**:** Surprise surprise. Hope you guys enjoyed that little plot twist! Lol! I'm a mess… Like, an actual mess! Don't worry, we'll be seeing Tori's reaction to Zig and Maya living together in the next chapter!


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